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Fendley Attends VIP Leadership Conference

MONTICELLO, AR —Bryan Fendley, director of instructional technology at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, was recently attended an invitation-only VIP Leadership Program sponsored by Blackboard, a global company focused on innovative technologies and services for education.

Fendley spent four days in New Orleans with some of Blackboard’s top executives and legal staff. “The caliber of people that Blackboard brought together for this program was unprecedented,” said Fendley.

For those in the VIP Leadership Program, Blackboard brought in experts for candid conversations about technologies transforming higher education. In attendance were leaders from Salesforce, Amazon Web Services and NASA. According to Fendley, being able to interact with these experts in a small group environment was very insightful. "I now have a better understanding of the technology that is coming and the business models behind them,” he explained.

As part of the Leadership track, Fendley attended a special reception for Dr. Jill Biden, wife of former Vice President Joe Biden. Fendley said he was impressed by Biden’s strong commitment to education and her experience teaching on a college campus. "I am very excited about the role future technologies will play in higher education," he noted. "After attending Blackboard’s leadership program, I think I'm in a better position to serve UAM’s students and faculty as the newest high tech initiatives are released."